CVE-2024-53856: Pgp RPGP Panics On Malformed Untrusted Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-9rmp-2568-59rv
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-617 CWE-130 CWE-248
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2024-53856 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) rpgp panics on malformed untrusted vulnerability (CWE-617: Reachable Assertion) affecting Pgp libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves rpgp panics on malformed untrusted input. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.14.1.

CVE-2024-53856 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2024-53856
GHSA Identifier GHSA-9rmp-2568-59rv
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-617: Reachable Assertion
Affected Product Pgp
Package Ecosystem crates.io
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2024-53856

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Pgp dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

pgp fixed: 0.14.1 
Upgrade pgp to 0.14.1
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for pgp

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2024-53856, inspect your project dependencies for Pgp:

inspect dependencies for pgp

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Pgp in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.14.1), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-617: Reachable Assertion, where the product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe than necessary. In Pgp, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

During a security audit, [Radically Open Security](https://www.radicallyopensecurity.com/) discovered several reachable edge cases which allow an attacker to trigger `rpgp` crashes by providing crafted data. ### Impact When processing malformed input, `rpgp` can run into Rust panics which halt the program. This can happen in the following scenarios: * Parsing OpenPGP messages from binary or armor format * Decrypting OpenPGP messages via `decrypt_with_password()` * Parsing or converting public keys * Parsing signed cleartext messages from armor format * Using malformed private keys to sign or encrypt Given the affected components, we consider most attack vectors to be reachable by remote attackers during typical use cases of the `rpgp` library. The attack complexity is low since the malformed messages are generic, short, and require no victim-specific knowledge. The result is a denial-of-service impact via program termination. There is no impact to confidentiality or integrity security properties. ### Versions and Patches All recent versions are affected by at least some of the above mentioned issues. The vulnerabilities have been fixed with version `0.14.1`. We recommend all users to upgrade to this version. ### References The security audit was made possible by the [NLnet Foundation NGI Zero Core](https://nlnet.nl/core/) grant program [for rpgp](https://nlnet.nl/project/rPGP-cryptorefresh/).

CVE-2024-53856 Affected Pgp Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.14.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
pgp
 crates.io
< 0.14.1
0.14.1

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/rpgp/rpgp/security/advisories/GHSA-9rmp-2568-59rv
NVD — CVE-2024-53856 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-53856
Pgp Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rpgp/rpgp
rustsec.org/advisories/rustsec-... WEB
https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2024-0447.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-53856?
CVE-2024-53856 is a security vulnerability in Pgp involving rPGP Panics on Malformed Untrusted Input under CWE-617: Reachable Assertion.
Which Pgp versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.14.1 across affected packages: pgp.
What version fixes CVE-2024-53856?
Upgrading to 0.14.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is pgp affected?
Yes, pgp is affected in releases prior to 0.14.1. Upgrade your dependency to 0.14.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2024-53856?
CVE-2024-53856 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2024-53856?
CVE-2024-53856 is classified under CWE-617: Reachable Assertion (The product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe than necessary.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2024-53856?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for pgp'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-9rmp-2568-59rv",
  "modified" : "2025-12-26T16:30:25Z",
  "published" : "2024-12-05T17:30:52Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2024-53856" ],
  "summary" : "rPGP Panics on Malformed Untrusted Input",
  "details" : "During a security audit, [Radically Open Security](https://www.radicallyopensecurity.com/) discovered several reachable edge cases which allow an attacker to trigger `rpgp` crashes by providing crafted data.\n\n### Impact\nWhen processing malformed input, `rpgp` can run into Rust panics which halt the program.\n\nThis can happen in the following scenarios:\n* Parsing OpenPGP messages from binary or armor format\n* Decrypting OpenPGP messages via `decrypt_with_password()`\n* Parsing or converting public keys\n* Parsing signed cleartext messages from armor format\n* Using malformed private keys to sign or encrypt\n\nGiven the affected components, we consider most attack vectors to be reachable by remote attackers during typical use cases of the `rpgp` library. The attack complexity is low since the malformed messages are generic, short, and require no victim-specific knowledge.\n\nThe result is a denial-of-service impact via program termination. There is no impact to confidentiality or integrity security properties.\n\n### Versions and Patches\nAll recent versions are affected by at least some of the above mentioned issues. \n\nThe vulnerabilities have been fixed with version `0.14.1`. We recommend all users to upgrade to this version.\n\n### References\n\n\nThe security audit was made possible by the [NLnet Foundation NGI Zero Core](https://nlnet.nl/core/) grant program [for rpgp](https://nlnet.nl/project/rPGP-cryptorefresh/).",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "pgp"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.14.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rpgp/rpgp/security/advisories/GHSA-9rmp-2568-59rv"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-53856"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rpgp/rpgp"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2024-0447.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-130", "CWE-248", "CWE-617" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-12-05T17:30:52Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2024-12-05T16:15:26Z"
  }
}